ATHENS 2004: THE GAMES RETURN TO GREECE YV Introduction There is no other event like it. Every power was China, host of the next Focus four years, for two full weeks, athletes Summer Olympics, in 2008 at Beijing. This News in Re- from around the world come together to The Chinese national sports governing view module reviews the 2004 participate in a celebration of athletic bodies decided to invest heavily in Athens Olympic competition and fair play. In 2004, almost all Olympic sports, and their Games, with a 11 099 athletes from 202 countries took athletes were rewarded with 63 medals, special focus on part in the Athens Olympics. It is of which 32 were gold. Many commen- Canada’s participat- estimated that four billion television tators fully expect to see China in the ing athletes. It also viewers from around the world watched number-one position at the Beijing looks at some of the history of the at least some of the competition that Games. Olympic move- took place in 28 different sports. ment, ancient and Canada at Athens modern; sports The World at Athens For many Canadians, the Athens Olym- issues raised by the There are many reasons why the Olym- pics were a major national disappoint- Games; and the potential for pic Games attract so much attention. ment. Typical of the commentary is this Canadians to make First of these is the level of competi- statement in a column by Robert their mark in future tion; the Games really do bring together MacLeod in The Globe and Mail (Sep- competitions. the best athletes in each sport in head- tember 2, 2004): “The 2004 Summer to-head combat. Second, there seems to Games . were an abject failure for be something for every sports fan. Canadian athletes, who won only 12 YV Sections There are team sports like baseball and medals, the nation’s lowest total since marked with this basketball as well as individual sports winning 10 at the 1988 Seoul Olym- symbol indicate content suitable for like swimming and track. Sports with pics.” He goes on to list the most dis- younger viewers. clear winners, like weightlifting, take turbing results: place side by side with judged sports • “. four world champions who failed like gymnastics and diving. to win a medal in their specialty . .” Most important to many viewers, • “. only three top-eight finishes in however, is the international aspect of swimming, its worst Olympic perfor- the competition. Some countries view mance in 52 years.” every medal won as a source of national • “In terms of total medals, Canada tied pride, and defeat as a source of national with Bulgaria for 19th place. shame. Many countries have initiated a Canada’s total of three gold medals practice of giving large cash rewards to was matched by Turkey, Thailand, their athletes who win gold, silver, or Poland, New Zealand, and Spain.” bronze medals. Some even define the overall quality of their national sports Needless to say, these results will be program in terms of how well they do analyzed by Canadian athletes, sports in the medal count at the Games. officials, coaches, sport psychologists, The Athens “Top Three” were not and journalists for some time to come. unexpected. First was the United States, MacLeod’s article looks at the opin- with 103 total medals, 35 of them gold. ions of several psychologists. Many Russia followed with 92 medals, 27 of believe that the disappointing results are them gold. But the emerging sports largely due to our best athletes not being psychologically prepared for the CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 30 stresses of competition at the Olympic • How can we best support our athletes Quote level. It is certainly true that an Olym- with the limited resources we have “There is some- pic gold medal has a prestige value available? thing about the Olympics that even beyond a world championship. For • Where should Canada make its major matters deeply to some, the competitive pressure might investment—elite or recreational Canadians. A prove overwhelming. sports? country that has As Canada looks to the future of • Are there some sports that mean more good relations with Olympic competition, and especially almost every other to Canadians or in which Canadians with the 2010 Winter Olympics being nation in the world are best equipped to succeed? Should naturally believes held in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., we limit our support to those sports in ideas like peace, some very fundamental questions are we identify as “best bets?” and friendship, being asked: fairness and diver- • What should be the basic goals of a If Canadians expect to do well in the sity.” — Alexandre national Canadian sports program? 2008 Beijing Olympics, the answers to Despatie, Olympic these questions will have to come diver (The Bell • How important is Olympic competi- quickly. Summer Olympics tion to our national sports program? 2004 Viewing Guide) For Reflection 1. Did you watch any of the Athens 2004 Olympic competitions? What were the highlights in your opinion? 2. How important for you was Canada’s participation in the Games? Is it important for all Canadians that our athletes succeed in future Olympics, especially Vancouver in 2010? 3. Should governments in Canada provide more funding for Olympic ath- letes? Explain. CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 31 ATHENS 2004: THE GAMES RETURN TO GREECE YV Video Review While viewing the Part I video, try to answer 1. How long ago did the Olympics begin? ________________________________ the questions on this page. You 2. When and where were the first Olympic Games of the modern era held? might need a few minutes after viewing to confirm your responses with 3. How many athletes did Canada send to Athens? ________________________ your peers. 4. What event marred the Games from the point of view of many Greeks? Did you know . One Canadian, a 5. How many medals did Canada win at the 2004 Olympics? _______________ Calgary teenager, managed to place a 6. Which athlete represented Canada’s biggest disappointment of the “Lucky Loonie” Games? near the base of an ancient column at Olympia Greece? 7. Describe two security breaches that were of concern to Olympic officials. However, the luck that it may have brought Canada’s hockey teams at Salt Lake City was 8. What ancient traditions were broken at Olympia in 2004? not so evident at Athens in 2004. 9. What are Kotinos? ___________________________________________________ 10. Which country appears to be the next powerhouse in the Summer Olympics? Part II Match the Canadian Olympian with his/her sport. Draw a line from the athlete to his/her sport. Athletes Sports Perdita Felicien Kayaking Kyle Shewfelt Cycling Lori-Ann Muenzer Wrestling Daniel Igali Hurdles Adam van Koeverden Gymnastics CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 32 ATHENS 2004: THE GAMES RETURN TO GREECE YV Olympic History: Fact or Fiction 1. The five Olympic rings are an ancient Greek symbol for the Olym- T F How much do you pic Games. know about the history of the 2. The Greeks held a marathon at their ancient games to commemo- T F Olympic Games? rate a soldier’s 26-mile (41.8-kilometre) run to report victory of Try your hand at the Athenians over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 the true or false BCE. questions. Circle what you believe is 3. One of the running events in the ancient Olympics required T F the correct answer. athletes to run in a full suit of armour. The answers follow the last question— 4. The Pentathlon is a five-event competition common to both the T F but don’t peek! ancient and modern Olympics. Medals earned for correct responses 5. Drivers who won chariot races in the ancient games often re- T F include–Gold (9-10 ceived no recognition for their victory. correct), Silver (7-8) and Bronze (5-6). 6. Participation in the Olympics automatically brought great honour T F to an athlete. 7. The oval running track was invented at Olympia. T F 8. Even wars stopped for the ancient Olympic games. T F 9. The Olympic torch and the lighting of the Olympic flame are a T F modern development. 10. All the events at the ancient Olympics had rules that were strictly T F enforced. 11. Bonus! In the modern Olympics, every host country has always T F won at least one gold medal during the Games on its home territory. The answers, please… 1. False. The five rings were a 1913 invention by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics. There were five rings for the five modern Games that had already taken place; a sixth would be added for Berlin in 1916; and one for each subsequent Olympiad. When the 1916 Games were cancelled because of the First World War, de Coubertin changed the meaning of the rings to repre- sent the five continents, which remains their meaning until today. 2. False. The race does commemorate Phedippides’ run between Marathon and Athens to report victory and warn of approaching ships, but it is an invention of the modern Olympics. Today’s distance was first run in London in 1908, and became the standard in Paris in 1924. The 1908 length was set at 26 miles (41.8 kilometres), to cover the distance between Windsor Castle and White City Stadium. An extra 385 yards (352 metres) were added so that the race would finish in front of King Edward VII’s royal box. CBC News in Review • September 2004 • Page 33 3. True. Competitors ran between 384 to 768 metres in full sets of armour Further Research weighing about 27 kilograms.